Subject:
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Re: Misperceptions of America (Was: Conversation w/ a LEGO Rep)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Fri, 27 Aug 1999 05:23:32 GMT
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Viewed:
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1845 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Jeremy Sproat writes:
> I agree -- that your guess is just a guess. At last glance, France and
> China and Russia and India and Pakistan and Iraq and a bunch of other
> powerful nations had their eye towards expanding their borders. We
> Americans may have a longer history of imperialism than others, but we're
> definitely not alone.
Uh? I can see China, Russia, India, Pakistan and Iraq. But France????
No the USA is not alone in imperialism. If you were willing to go back
30 or 40 years you could add a whole host of other countries - South Africa,
the UK, Argentian, Spain, Israel (though arguably for defence purposes),
Indonesia, and more
recently Ethiopia and Libya.
US stands out because it's better at it. Lots of countries have tried to
force their neighbours into submission, but not many other countries have sent
troops off to do so on other lands halfway round the world.
And with being a very powerful Western democracy, perhaps most of the World
tends to expect better standards of the USA than we tend to from some tin pot
African dictatorship <grin>
To be fair US foreign policy has improved hugely over the last 20 years or so.
US involvement abroad is now much more likely to be for good humanitarian
reasons
and now is no longer generally because the US is trying to force some US-
friendly
dictatorship on an unwilling population.
Unfortunately, people tend to have long memories...
Simon
http://www.SimonRobinson.com
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